It Has Begun (SW Community)

SolidWorks has started their effort to provide users with access to the SolidWorks online community via the SolidWorks website.  It is under the heading Communities.   This new area is apart of the revamping of the SolidWorks website in to a more organized set up.  When you open the Communities area, you’ll see a slick yet simple 3D rotation menu that allows you to go to six separate SolidWorks related communities. 

The first area is to the Engineers & Designers community.  Here, you will find links to the SolidWorks Discussion Forum, the friendly and familar SWUGN, SolidWorks User Blogs (such as yours truly), and the always useful SolidWorks Express Newsletter.

The second area is a connection to Manufacturers & Suppliers, were you’ll find links to SupplierSource.com (a valuable resource in its own right), 3D ContentCentral, and the listing of SolidWorks Partners.

The third area takes you to information about the Certified SolidWorks Professional program, including basic information about the CSWP tests and how to get certified.

The fourth area is for Educators and Students, with links to vital websites that support each.  This area has an extensive number of links, so even if you are not currently going to school or teaching, I would encourage a looksee.

The fifth area on the list is to SolidWorks itself, called “Connect with SolidWorks“, which has links to Enhancement Requests, Early-visibility Program, and Beta Testing. 

The final community area is Events, which has information about SolidWorks World, User Group meeting dates, Industry and online events such as SolidWorks regular teleconferences and on-demand webinars.

This new Communities area seems like a good and modest first step in attempting to bring together all of the diverse SolidWorks resources that are available online.  The list of links is comprehensive and fairly well organized (for the most part).  If this area gets enough notice, it may open the door to more people discovering our SolidWorks online community. 

Author: fcsuper

As a drafter, mechanical designer and CAD engineer, I've been in the mechanical design field since 1991. For the first 8 years of my career, I was an AutoCAD professional. I utilized AutoLISP and many other AutoCAD customization features to streamline drafting activities for 6+ drafters and designers. I authored several custom functions, one of which was published in the March 1997 issue of Cadalyst Magazine. Since 1998, I've been used SolidWorks non-stop. I've worked to utilize the SolidWorks' user environment to simplify drafting and design activities for 20+ engineers. I've created this website to provide current information about SolidWorks from a variety of contributors. More recently, I am now employed by Dassault Systemes as SOLIDWORKS Sr. Product Definition Manager to improve drawing, annotation and MBD related areas. View all posts by fcsuper